In Denmark, Airbnb to report hosts' rent to tax authorities

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark says online room-rental platform Airbnb will start to automatically report its users’ deals to taxation authorities, the first country to do so.

Taxation minister Carsten Lauritzen says Airbnb “has committed to report data so their hosts pay taxes.” He says Airbnb will inform Danish taxation authorities of the number of renting days and its users’ total income.

The deal announced Thursday closes a loophole in which hosts had to report to tax authorities on a voluntary basis.

Patrick Robinson, director of Airbnb’s Public Policy in Europe, said it “will allow that to be fairly and clearly regulated.”

Danish political parties on Tuesday agreed to limit room-rental services to a maximum of 70 days a year per property.